The Graduate... Perfect 21st Birthday Movie

The Graduate

I mean this in the most eloquent way possible; I now understand the origins of the term MILF. If you are not familiar with this concept, a quick view into the world of stupendously BAD yet hilarious teen movies, specifically American Pie will clear things up.
It would seem that it was predestined that I would watch this film on the evening of my 21st birthday. It was unusually intriguing, I asked myself could I be Ben, could I have an affair with a married woman, more importantly, could I become numb to the world and lash out at society because of my own contempt with life and the future? Could I become so discouraged after my own graduation from SUA that it leads me to living a confused and passive life? A part of me thinks perhaps but, knowing myself I don’t think I could ever really be Ben in all his backward and awkwardness.
…Moving on…
Mrs. Robinson is a “Hot psycho devil woman” that is responsible for one of the greatest cinematic moments in film history. As Dustin Hoffman’s character, Ben Braddock, says “Mrs. Robinson, you are trying to seduce me” he is placed within an alluding visual image with him self in the triangle of Mrs. Robinson’s legs. This refers to the triangle he finds later in the movie between himself, Elaine, and Mrs. Robinson. This is only one of many examples of the exceptional shots of Director Mike Nichols. Although Mrs. Robinson’s seductive measures provides a climax in visual drama, it’s truly the gleeful manipulation of us, the audience, by Nichols that sets The Graduate apart.
Everything about The Graduate is taboo. In fact this film is taboo personified. Every aspect of this film from the acting, dialogue, sound, camera angles and subject matter are all unconventional, off beat and simply forbidden by standards in “conventional film making”. Humm… and actually this is precisely what we have seen throughout the course of our class. “Conventional standards” do not make classic film!! Daring, painful, and provocative subject matter, acting, sound, camera angel, and editing makes classic film. If none other, this is the theme that connects everything we have witnessed as good, great, or even classic movies. Pushing the standards and creating new ways to make movies is the only authentic way to make great movies.
Again, from the very beginning of this movie when we witness Ben walking through the airport against the backdrop of a white wall with an uncomfortably tight close-up shot where he exhibits no emotion—he is a neutral being—to the reoccurrence of this same emotion at the end as we see Elaine and Ben on the bus just after running away from her wedding. Only ten seconds after entering the bus their smiles fade returning once again to a neutral state of “so what”. This is a return to this same empty, rather, aimless feeling at the beginning. With these two images we are provided with Nichols critique of life. Nichols ultimate critique of life is that except for the few fleeting moments where you really LIVE life, when you desire, suffer, drive, run, and fight for what you want, life is passive and actually quite discouraging. There are actions that you always end up returning to at the end of the day. We are predictable beings and in the end we still don’t have an innovative plan for the future.
…Which is why I’m praying that Barack Obama Wins the election tomorrow…
Nichol’s use of montage and sound are powerful. I’d say seventy percent of this film is told with out dialogue. The music sets the tone and narrates the exact feeling of scenes numerous times throughout this film. After Ben has slept with Mrs. Robinson for the first time the following montage is entirely dependent on audio. The music plays for with feels like ten minutes but only last one and a half. In this scene the music provides us with an insight into his mind. The psychedelic disconnectedness and aloofness Ben feels from his life is clear. This series also depicts how Ben simply moves from one place to another without ever really experiencing a different emotion or caring what is actually occurring. He is just floating through life like his plastic pool bed. The music leaves us with a pity for Ben and his confusion.
The most interesting aspect of The Graduate for me was the use of dialogue and how it was incorporated into the final work. The voice over is a recurring tool, displaying the removal of Ben from his family and his achievements. Also the way in which Nichols mutes the words of the parents before Ben jumps into the pool wearing the scuba gear and again at Elaine’s wedding before she cries out for Ben, these images of mouths speaking without sound serves as a perfect tool for capturing the overwhelming separation the characters feel. Normally one would expect to hear an abundance of noises to convey this emotion yet here, Nichols does the exact opposite. Still, it proves more than effective it draws the audience in to an even greater degree.

The Graduate was both a perfect movie for my birthday and for gaining depth with regards to my understanding of film making. J We should all have great birthday movies; they put things in perspective quite well.